What will business look like coming out of the pandemic? Predictions from Board Members.

As we adjust to our new normal—in this COVID-19, work-from-home, digital-first business environment—leaders are starting to get a clearer grasp on what things might look like coming out of this crisis. 

Recently, we convened several Directors from prominent boards across the country and across industries to discuss what the ripple effect of this pandemic might be on the next six months, 12 months and beyond. 

Here are 10 of their predictions around work and business:

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1. Work from home won’t just be a phase.

We’ve proven that working from home is possible, and it certainly has some benefits for employees, such as saving time on commuting and spending more time with family. For many, this is likely to be a behavior that will last beyond the pandemic. The question remains: How do you really get to know people at work virtually? What’s the tradeoff between efficiency and depth in those relationships? How do you build culture?

2. The rise of the distributed workforce.

There are benefits of working from home for companies as well: Distributed workforces can attract younger talent, for whom flexibility tends to be a priority. And when distributed globally, they can leverage the benefit of different time zones (think: an engineer signs off at 6pm in the U.S. and one in Australia picks up the work). The question remains: How do you optimize creativity and productivity for each individual? And what new skills will be required?

3. A new hybrid model of in-person + digital.

The group agreed: There’s value in having in-person gatherings to serve as touch-points or a kickoff, which make the digital/remote work thereafter much easier. Building on the first two themes, it seems companies will work toward a model of “sometimes together.” As they downsize their physical footprints, they can translate real estate budgets into more persistent travel, enabling teams to sync in person every so often.

4. Leaders will need to become social architects.

While you might say it’s always been a leader’s job to help facilitate relationships and team building, this becomes more challenging when employees are remote and don’t have the default of being together at the office each day. Through digital means, leaders will have to be more deliberate about making connections, helping team members build relationships, and bonding the team.

5. Teams will rally around projects and initiatives rather than functions.

When not physically together, it helps teams to have a clear goal or mission to unite them. This may mean remote working is better suited to project or initiative-based teams (as Amazon operates, for example) rather than functional ones. 

6. Companies will need to pilot new forms of virtual onboarding and mentorship.

Shifting interviewing and hiring online has been somewhat straightforward as a patchwork solution thus far, but what about onboarding? Mentorship? For entry-level workers in particular, adapting to the workforce virtually may be an extra challenge without the relationship-building, shadowing, and acclimation that happens in person. Companies will have to determine what guidance looks like digitally—and one solution probably won’t work for everything.

7. Selling will happen in new ways.

Especially for large sales organizations, the “big event” of the year may be the key to locking in millions of dollars of sales. But how do you get a client to feel comfortable spending that much money without being in person with you? Right now, companies are likely still relying on existing relationships, but they will soon need to figure out what happens 6, 9, 12 months down the road to keep the pipeline flourishing.

8. Training will rely on better, more human storytelling. 

When you can’t hold a massive gathering for your salesforce to train them on new products, how do you keep them engaged? How do you make up for the excitement, entertainment, and camaraderie that comes with these events? How do you shift their hearts and minds? One solution is to turn to the power of storytelling—create better narratives, better content. Without the crutch of an in-person event, companies will have to ensure their products and branding are more clear, human, and authentic so they speak for themselves.

9. As retail shifts online, only the best brick and mortar will survive.

Between bankruptcies, layoffs, store closures, and a decrease in consumer spending, it’s no secret that retail has been hit hard by the pandemic. Retailers have had to quickly shift focus from selling in stores (and even catalogs) to selling online, and will continue to seek ways to shorten the supply chain and be as agile as possible to navigate the uncertain months still to come. 

10. Marketers will have to reimagine the customer journey.

In the same way that commerce is becoming predominately digital, so too is the customer journey. But how do you create emotional connection with customers and build preference in a world where you can’t “touch” or greet them? Brands will have to determine what their core competency is and what connects them to their customers—and then create those things digitally. You may not get the same emotional impact as you do from in-person touch-points, but what you gain is more ability for targeting and personalization.